Recipes and other random chit chat from the Chief Casserole Diva (Stephanie) at www.retrodinnerdiva.com.

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Monthly Archives: December 2013

If you’re like me and have tried coating chicken or fish or pork with panko bread crumbs and then BAKED it, you have ended up with a bit of a soggy, mushy crust. There is nothing worse than soggy crust, right? It’s enough to make a wanna be somewhat healthy guy or gal fall off the wagon and just freaking fry those suckers.

Panko bread crumbs are used in Japan for deep frying not baking, hence the problem. But don’t give up yet… I have a solution for you that is healthier than frying but will give you that nice crispy crust….just simply toast the panko bread crumbs first in a little bit of olive or canola oil.

The directions are simple:

In a skillet over medium heat add 1 cup of panko and 2 teaspoons olive oil and mix together. Stir often until the panko is golden brown (just takes a couple of minutes). Simple as that!

Let cool and then if using plain panko, you can add in the seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, taco seasoning, paprika, parmesan, etc) at this point. Dip your chicken, fish, or pork in an egg wash and then the panko crumbs and it will bake up delicious and crispy like this:

Oh yeah. Now, that’s what I’m talking about.

For an even healthier option, you can spray the skillet with cooking spray and eliminate the oil. The panko will still brown up.